A year ago, the Mets showed up to Spring Training bursting with enthusiasm and swagger, with many of the players going on record saying they were going to be in the postseason and playing October baseball.
It was David Wright, Terry Collins and Matt Harvey who first started talking about playing in the postseason as far back as December of 2014 and fresh off the Michael Cuddyer signing. All three scoffed when asked about having a winning season, or actually winning 90 games. “Our expectations are a lot higher than that.” said a snippy Wright.
The Mets captain doubled down in a January interview with Kevin Kernan of the Post. “I fully expect us to be in the playoffs. It’s not coming out here and boasting, but I think where we stand right now, we’re a much better team than we were last year and in years past. You win with young, dominant pitching and we have quite a bit of that, and offensively, we are going to be better than we have been.’’
“We are preparing to be a playoff team. That is where the bar is set. The bar is not set to be just better than last year [79-83] or to be a .500 team. The bar is set to be a playoff team.’’
At the Winter Meetings, manager Terry Collins set the bar high. “I’ve done nothing for the last four years but preach to our fan base to be patient, and I’ve been trying to be patient. Well, I think we’ve got the pieces. It’s time to step up.” When asked if he was saying that he has a playoff team, “Absolutely,” the Mets’ skipper responded.
Come Spring Training Collins had a clear message for his team. “It’s time. We think we’ve put some pieces together. Now we’ve got to go play. Talk is cheap. Now we’ve got to get it done on the field, but there is no reason why, if we execute, that we shouldn’t be playing in the postseason.’’
As the weeks and months rolled on others would chime in like Zack Wheeler Juan Lagares, Wilmer Flores and Lucas Duda.
Travis d’Arnaud was telling everyone that the confidence level was high for everyone at Mets camp, and that he and his teammates are all planning on going to the postseason in October.
“One hundred percent,” the Mets catcher said. “I have my best friend’s wedding (in October) and I don’t know if I’m going to make it. Sorry, dude.”
Reigning rookie of the year Jacob deGrom didn’t back away from the playoffs discussion either. “It’s exciting. There’s a lot of hype around the team right now and we know that.”
“We definitely want to live up to it. We want to make the playoffs and win a World Series. So it’s going to be an exciting year.”
“What I’ve been impressed is the way our players are approaching this season and the confidence level they apparently have,” said Mets GM Sandy Alderson.
“Is the team capable of winning 89, 90 games? Yeah, I think the team is capable. I think it has that capacity, that potential. We’ve just got to go out and do it.”
So that’s where we were a year ago. The team had some swagger and some were accusing them of being too cocky and that they needed to shut-up and put up a winning season before talking smack about the playoffs.
The 2015 Mets sure showed them. When they reeled off that 11-game winning streak in April it became clear the Mets meant business and suddenly that talk of October baseball wasn’t so crazy and far-fetched after all.
Fast-forward to February 16, 2016. It’s a whole new ball of wax as the Mets get ready for a new season – a season that will have great expectations – a season in which the Mets will be the hunted ones – a season that begins with the raising of the 2015 National League Champions pennant.
The Mets can’t ease up now or rest on their laurels and veteran right fielder Curtis Granderson knows that better than most. His message for the team is a cautionary one. In an interview with Kevin Kernan of the Post he says:
“Don’t be content with what happened and don’t assume that just because things have gotten to the point of where they are, and we are returning a lot of the key pieces from the successful team of last year, that things are going to fall into place.”
“When you do have success like that, the target on your back gets bigger and more teams are looking to say, ‘Hey, we know our team is better than you and we are going to go out and show it and prove it once we get the chance to step on the diamond and do it,’” Granderson concluded. “We have to continue to stay hungry and not be content. That’s going to be the big thing.’’
Good advice from the Grandy Man, who was arguably the team’s MVP last season and has emerged as one of the most respected leaders in the clubhouse.
